Have Estate Agency Boards Had Their Day?

For decades estate agency boards have been a conversation starter. In the pre-portal days, they got neighbours gossiping about whose house was for sale and how much it might be on for. These days, they are just as likely to provoke ire as curiosity, with anger at the proliferation of boards in some neighbourhoods leading local councils to put bans in place.

Generally, estate agency boards are permitted without the need for planning permission under the Town and Country Planning Act. The regulations state that only one board should be erected on a property that is for sale or to let, and it must be removed within 14 days of completion of a sale or the start of a new tenancy.

“For sale boards really are the cheapest form of on-street advertising you will find. Paying for a billboard or poster in a public space will usually cost a small fortune, so for sale boards definitely still hold value,” says Nick Marr, co-founder of property classifieds site TheHouseShop.com.